1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer graphics and, more specifically, to the field of color transformation.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, the types of devices available for viewing images has increased dramatically. Consumers view images on several different output devices such as monitors, displays, televisions, cameras, printers, and other electronic devices. Whereas the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) used to be the standard device for viewing images, today a user can also purchase a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or a Plasma Display Panel (PDP). The increasing variety of available devices, however, has produced a problem of color uniformity. Because of the mechanical differences between the different types of devices, colors are often displayed in different ways. That is, a CRT many times displays the color red differently than an LCD. Moreover, a picture displayed on an LCD prints with different color uniformity on a printer.
The disparity between the manner in which different devices display colors has led to a uniform color standard. Examples of uniform color standards that have gained popularity are the sRGB color standard and the CIE color standard. These color standards define color points to which all participating devices must conform. In order to conform to a default color space, a device must perform a transform on the color that it desires to display. That is, as a device prepares to display a color, it must first transform the color to the default color space before the device displays the desired color. Current color transformation techniques, however, do not come without drawbacks.
One color transformation technique involves the use of a 3D lookup table (3D LUT). This technique uses a table defining a corresponding output color for each input color. The 3D LUT technique, however, requires vast amounts of memory to store the entire table. In addition, the initial creation of the table can take a long period of time.
Another color transformation technique involves the use of matrix calculation. This technique uses a matrix function that is applied to an input color to produce an output color. The matrix calculation technique, however, reduces the gamut of colors that can be produced by the output device. In addition, this technique transforms the input color into another color space before transforming the input color into the default color space. This is computationally intensive and time-consuming.
Accordingly, there exists a need to overcome these drawbacks with current color transformations and to provide color transform to a default color space.